Beyond The Frame: Hard Core Sufi?

From The Sufis of the Darghas-Copyright 2007 Tewfic El-Sawy
During my photography travels, I constantly despair at the sight of local people wearing baseball caps (sometimes back-to-front!) and gaudy t-shirts instead of their beautiful native dress, and in so doing mar the image of their cultures and heritage. So imagine my joy when I saw Ali Shah Jalil Shams Uddin walking into the shrine of Nizzamuddin in Delhi, an impressive beard jutting out of his handsome face, head topped by a traditional turban, and bejeweled with bracelets and necklaces made of carnelian beads.

Yes! There was a man with a story to tell...a paragon of authenticity and most probably a genuine Sufi to boot. Barely containing my excitement, I approached him along with my trusted fixer in Delhi, Joginder, to photograph him during his prayers and for an interview. He had composed an ode to the saint Nizzam Uddin, and not a wallflower by any means, belted it out in the center of the shrine. Flattered by the attention, he jumped at the chance to talk especially since a small crowd, sensing an event of some sort, had now formed around us.

I photographed while Joginder asked him questions about his life and background. He revealed that he had been a devout Christian, but had converted to Islam over 25 years ago, and had since then lived as a recluse in a cave in Madras, dispensing Islamic sermons and advice to the faithful. He was a Sufi ascetic, who traveled to Delhi to visit the shrine of Nizzam Uddin and pay his respects to the preeminent Sufi saint in the Indian subcontinent. He told the attentive crowd that he frequently wore a vest made of chains and padlocks as penitence for the sins of mankind.

I was in heavens...photographing as quickly as I can, trying to capture his incredible expressions as he orated to the now awed crowd...my thoughts racing with images of his ascetic way of life...until I heard the ring of a cellphone. My initial irritation at being distracted by a cellphone owned by someone in the crowd was quickly replaced by utter disappointment. My expectations were compleltely shattered....it was none other but Ali Shah who had reached in his robe's pocket for a Nokia cellphone. According to Joginder, Ali Shah was having a conversation with his wife, who was still in Madras. You can even see the blue cord of his cellphone dangling from his neck, along with the rest of his necklaces.

Ah, well...at least he wasn't wearing a baseball cap.